|
Date |
Ship
Cruise Line |
Event |
Type of Incident |
| January 27 |
Norwegian Dawn
Norwegian Cruise Line |
A pssenger reports: My wife and I just returned from a 10-day Caribbean cruise on the Norwegian Dawn and due to one or more kitchen staff falling ill, the buffet lines were no longer “self serve.” This led to some very interesting exchanges between dining guests and the staff. Also, when we disembarked on January 25th, a passenger was taken away by ambulance. |
Illness |
| January 27 |
Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Cruise Line |
A passenger reports: The ship missed Roatan yesterday, Thursday Jan 26, 2012 due to choppy seas and high wind preventing the tenders from operating. |
Missed port call |
| January 27 |
Serenade of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
ABC News reports a tourist bus collided with a parked vehicle in the U.S. Virgin Islands, injuring 13 cruise ship passengers after it went down an embankment. One female passenger was hospitalized for a hip fracture while 12 others were released after being treated for minor injuries. The tourists had been participating in the "Best of St. Thomas and Shopping" excursion. Police spokeswoman Melody Rames said the group was aboard an open-air "safari bus" when the accident occurred on a steep road near the island's scenic Beacon Point. She said it was not yet clear what caused the accident. The ship had had docked in St. Thomas Friday as part of a seven-night cruise. |
Pax injured in shore excursion accident |
| January 27 |
Queen Mary 2
Cunard Line |
The Daily News (South Africa) reports the ship, expected to arrive in Durban on Saturday morning, would now only arrive on Sunday at about 6AM. The delay is the result of “terrible” high winds in Cape Town. And it is not known how long the ship will be in Durban because that too will depend on weather conditions and Cyclone Funso presently off Mozambique. |
Delayed arrival &departure
|
| January 27 |
Explorer of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
Travel Blackboard reports the ship has been forced to extend its current cruise as a result of a medical emergency, which has lead to the delayed departureof the ship's next sailing. The ship will now arrive in its Bayonne, New Jersey, homeport on Saturday, 28 January, one day after its originally scheduled date. The ship, which is equipped with a helipad, has re-charted a course for San Juan, Puerto Rico, the closest port of call, A helicopter will meet the ship when it gets within 70 miles of San Juan. Additional information on the revised itinerary will be provided to passengers on Saturday at embarkation. Passengers scheduled to depart Friday are being asked not arrive at the port until 2pm Saturday. |
Delayed arrival &departure |
| January 26 |
Aurora
P&O Cruises |
The CDC reports reports 142 of 1742 passengers (8.24%) and 8 of 824 crew (0.97%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in San Francisco on January 25, 2012 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Stool specimens will be sent to the CDC lab for testing. The cruise began January 4 and ends January 26. |
Illness |
| January 25 |
Riviera
Oceania Cruises |
Cruise Critic reportsShipyard delays caused by striking workers have scuttled the April 24 maiden voyage of Oceania's new Riviera. Instead, the 1,250-passenger ship will launch on May 16. Genoa-based Fincantieri notified the line last week about the delays. "We know that ... travelers are anxious to welcome Riviera and we regret that labor strikes have caused this delay," Giuseppe Bono, the shipyard's CEO, said in a statement. Two cruises are affected -- a 12-night Athens-to-Istanbul run and a 10-night Istanbul-to-Venice sojourn. Passengers on those voyages can rebook on another cruise and receive a future cruise credit that will range from $250 to $1,000 per guest, depending on the cabin category. Full refunds will be offered to those who don't want to rebook. An Oceania spokesman told Cruise Critic that the line is also assisting travelers with airline change fees. The new inaugural is a 10-night "Pearls of the Aegean" cruise, which includes an overnight aboard ship in Venice before visiting Dubrovnik, Corfu and Crete, among other ports. |
Construction delay - cruises canceled |
| January 22 |
Carnival Magic & Carnival Triumph
Carnival Cruise Lines |
Cruise Critic reports
dense fog in the port of Galveston has caused delays for two Carnival cruise ships this weekend.
Carnival Triumph's departure from the Texas port was delayed by several hours on Saturday, however the ship is still sailing its five-night Western Caribbean cruise as scheduled and no itinerary changes were necessary.
Because the fog has not yet lifted, the port is now closed and will remain so until conditions improve. Carnival has informed us that Carnival Magic's arrival will be delayed until the port is reopened. (Update: 1:10 p.m. EST, Galveston's port has reopened and Carnival Magic has arrived. The ship is expected to depart later this afternoon. No itinerary changes have been made.) |
Delays as a result of fog |
| January 22 |
Queen Mary 2 & Queen Elizabeth
Cunard Line |
The Daily Mail reports A man who has worked on two of the world’s most luxurious cruise liners is being investigated by police over allegations he indecently assaulted child passengers. It is claimed the crew member carried out the sexual assaults over the past five years on Cunard’s flagship the Queen Mary 2 and its sister vessel Queen Elizabeth. Detectives started the investigation after a tip-off thought to be from the parents of one of the children involved, all of whom live in the UK. Police in Wiltshire, where the unnamed man lives, have contacted parents in various parts of the UK whom they want to interview. Nobody has been arrested or charged over the allegations. But police sources confirmed that the ex-cruise worker – who left the company before the police probe began six months ago – has been interviewed by Wiltshire CID. Detectives are understood to have examined photographic and computer equipment at the man’s home. The investigation, which began last summer, has taken so long because of the delicate nature of the allegations and the fact they involve young children. |
Multiple sexual assaults of children |
| January 16 |
Pacific Jewel
P&O Australia |
The Herald Sun reports an Australian cruise liner has turned back during a Pacific Islands cruise after a passenger went missing. A spokesman for P&O Cruises confirmed the Pacific Jewel had turned back after leaving Lifou, New Caledonia after an elderly woman was reported missing last night. “I can confirm the Pacific Jewel is currently searching for a female passenger reported missing last night,” the spokesman said. “A complete search of the ship was conducted but she was not found. “A review of all CCTV footage was conducted including footage of a balcony area and it became apparent a passenger had gone overboard,” he said. The spokesman said the ship was on day eight of a Pacific Islands cruise and was currently searching for the woman in the water between Lifou and Noumea. He confirmed the woman’s family was on board the ship. |
Passenger missing |
| January 16 |
Star Princess
Princess Cruises |
MSNBC reports Princess Cruises said Monday that it is surprised and disappointed that the Falkland Islands government turned away the ship because a small number of people on board have stomach flu. Falklands government spokesman Darren Christie said it had to deny entry to the ship Saturday because some passengers had contagious norovirus, which the islands are ill-equipped to handle. The decision was made by the Falklands' chief medical officer in consultation with a microbiologist in Britain, Christie said. "An outbreak in the Falkland Islands would put enormous pressure on our limited medical resources, and jeopardize other scheduled cruise visits," his statement said. The cruise line reports 74 passengers and crew were reportedly ill. The ship had planned to dock in Port Stanley in the middle of its 14-day South America cruise from Valparaiso, Chile, to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ship's next port of call is Tuesday in Buenos Aires, followed by Montevideo, Uruguay. The cruise ends Jan. 21. |
Illness |
| January 15 |
Carnival Liberty
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: On Sunday, January 8th I was suddenly awaken by the ship listing to the port side, in the middle of the Carribean Ocean, with no land to be seen. The cruise director came over the loud speaker and said they were having a technical issue and not to worry. I have been on many cruises, all Carnival, and when your belongings start sliding off higher ground and glasses and dishes start smashing on the floor, there is definitely something wrong. I have never been so scared in my life thinking the ship was going over. From another passenger: We (14 of us) just returned from a 7 day cruise on the Carnival Liberty. First day at sea at approximately 8:25 am we had an "incident' in which the boat took a sharp turn and listed enough that items, such as glasses, flew off the desk in the rooms shattering, plates and glasses slid off the tables in the dining room breaking and spilling and the pools lost lots of water. That water flooded the stairwells and flowed into the hallways. Very scary. However, does not even compare to what happened to the Costa Concordia! Liberty's comments: We had a technical problem. Rumor has it that a problem with the computer told the ship to "avoid a crash" causing it to turn sharply which caused the tipping. And from another: I was on the third floor outside of the dining room when the ship severely listed. Water poured over the windows, glasses and dishes slid off tables in the dining room, the waiter said we'd have to wait longer for our food as what they were cooking was now on the floor and the engineer workers came out of a maintenance door and stood in the hall by us with puzzled looks. When I returned to my room the closet door was open, life jackets from the top shelf were on the floor and everything on the desk...wine bottle and glasses were on the floor...amazingly not broken. There were people who fell out of the shower and one person said she was in bed with her feet higher than her head. It was frightening and for the rest of the cruise you were on edge Everytime the ship rocked.
|
Severe list |
| January 13 |
Costa Concordia
Costa Cruises |
There are many media reports, details still emerging that the ship struck a rock, took on water, listed 20 degrees, and subsequently went on its side and partially submerged off the Italian Tuscan coast in the Mediterranean. As of January 15th, six people (5 pax, 1 crew) were confirmed dead from among the 4200 passengers and crew. The ship had embarked on a seven day cruise, leaving from Civitavecchia several hours before the accident occured. Evacuation of the ship was disorganized; the Captain has been charged with manslaughter, in part because he had left the ship before all passengers and crew had been cleared from the vessel. As of January 16th, 15 persons remain missing and details continue to be released. Links to accurate information will be posted in due time.UPDATE January 17: The death toll is now 11 and 28 people remain missing (24 pax, 4 crew). January 24: The death toll has been raised to 16. |
Grounded - Partially Sunk |
| January 12 |
Enchantment of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
The Baltimore Sun reports a 25-year-old Royal Caribbean employee has been indicted on charges of sex abuse of a minor after authorities say he had sex with a teenage girl aboard a cruise ship out of Baltimore, records show. According to a complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Fabian Palmer befriended the 14-year-old girl and her family during a cruise that departed from Maryland on Dec. 17. On Dec. 23, the victim told authorities, she was alone on the deck of the ship and encountered Palmer, who took her into a men's locker room and began having sex with her. He stopped when another employee knocked on the door, she said. Video cameras captured "the likeness of Palmer," the victim, and the second employee outside the locker room around the same time that the victim said the abuse occurred, records show. Palmer was interviewed by Royal Caribbean employees and admitted having sex with the girl, but said he believed she was 16, records show. He was indicted on one count of sex abuse of a minor on Jan. 11. See also the Daily Mail. According to the Jamaica Star it is reported that Palmer first befriended the girl and her family before allegedly raping her and only stopped when another employee knocked on the locker room door. The girl was reportedly on holiday with her family at the time, and the incident happened just days before Christmas. She told authorities that the encounter with Palmer started when she was alone on the deck. He took her inside a men's locker room and started having sex with her. She added that another employee knocked on the door and he stopped. |
Sexual Assault of teen |
| January 12 |
Dream
Thomson Cruises |
The Examiner reports more than 200 persons have filed a 'class action type' lawsuit against a cruise line because of problems with odors and poor hygiene when they sailed two years ago. British based Thomson Cruises experienced problems on their flagship, the Dream, and passengers that sailed between May and October, 2010 have filed the suit. The Dream is a 55,000 ton, 1,506 passenger ship that Thomson purchased from Costa Cruises. There were reports of numerous problems on board the ship in it's early days of operation, including plumbing problems. According to a British newspaper, 'This is Staffordshire', complaints included 'toilets blocked and overflowing, food was undercooked and reused, and air conditioning units were often broken'. Another couple claimed they might have become sick because of the trip. |
Lawsuit |
| January 11 |
Monarch of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
Cruise News Daily reports a crew member witnessed a 25-year-old male crew member jumping overboard this morning at 5:45am when the ship was sailing in the Bahamas toward its scheduled call at Nassau. Video surveillance recordings later confirmed the man going overboard. The incident was immediately reported, and the ship turned and began a search. All appropriate authorities were notified, including the Bahamian government. Three other cruise ships in the area joined the search. They were Carnival Sensation, Disney Dream and Norwegian Jewel. A US Coast Guard MH-60 helicopter was also dispatched from a US Navy base in the Bahamas to assist at the request of Bahamian authorities. At 9am, the Bahamian Coast Guard released the cruise ships from the search and they continued on their way. The Bahamian Coast Guard and US Coast Guard are continuing their search. |
Person overboard |
| January 7 |
Poesia
MSC Cruises |
The Bahamas Weekly reports that the ship ran aground at Port Lucaya near Freeport, Bahamas. The ship waited for the tide to get high at 18:00, she was pulled off with 4 tugs and a 5th tug standing by. At 20:00hrs she was free and continued on her journey at 19.5 kts to little Salvador. |
Aground |
| January 7 |
Adonia
P&O Cruises |
BBC reports workers at a Cornish shipyard have been given four days to complete emergency repairs on the ship. The Southampton-based Adonia is due to arrive at Falmouth Docks over the weekend but needs to sail next Friday on a an 87-night world cruise on 13 January. One of the directors for A&P Falmouth, Peter Childs, said it would be a 24-hour-a-day job to complete the work. Though the ship is the newest in the P&O fleet, it was built in 2001 as Renaissance Cruises' R8. After Renaissance ceased operations and filed for bankruptcy in late 2001, the vessel was seized by creditors and laid up in Marseille, France. In 2003, the vessel re-entered operation, this time as the sole cruise ship in Swan Hellenic's fleet. The vessel was named Minerva II. On 7 April 2007, the Minerva II completed her final voyage with Swan Hellenic and was transferred by the parent company, Carnival Corporation & plc, to Princess Cruises. She was renamed Royal Princess and entered into service for Princess in April 2007. On 18 June 2009, fire broke out in her engine room, disabling the ship, while on a 12-day Holy Land voyage and just left Port Said, Egypt. She waited to dock in Port Said for an assessment of the damage. On 9 December 2009, it was announced that Royal Princess was to transfer to the P&O Cruises fleet. The ship entered service with the company on 21 May 2011, and was renamed Adonia. |
Emergency repairs |
| January 7 |
Independence
American Cruise Line |
From a passenger: At 3AM (5th) the starboard engine drive shaft broke on leaving Savanah. Returned to port where the problem was determined. Left port on the 5th with blessing of the CG to cruise with all passengers on board. On one engine cruised to Brunswick, GA where the CG withdrew its approval to continue with the passengers. Spent the 6th in port terminating the cruise. On the 7th hauled everyone to the airport. Ship supposedly left at 8:01 for dry dock in Jacksonville. No one hurt, just required to accept a different schedule than planned. Lesson: when cruising think flexible. Further: I believe that it was the last cruise of the season as there were several passengers that had boarded at Fernandino for the run to Charleston where we boarded. I heard that it was headed for dry dock in Jacksonville for 'rountine' maintenance. The propellor shaft break down gave them more reason.
The consequence was that several stops were eliminated, some shore trips became free and we were taken to Jacksonville airport free of charge (had been told that was a $35.00 fee per person).
The CG took an active part in the crisis management and were very present during the inspection while tied up in Savanah. They apparently called the shots after we reached Brunswick. |
Propulsion problems - Cruise canceled |
| January 4 |
Maasdam
Holland
America Line |
The CDC reports reports 56 of 1255 passengers (4.46%) and 6 of 573 crew (1.05%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist boarded the ship on arrival in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on January 2, 2012 to conduct targeted environmental health and epidemiologic assessments and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Ship crew conducted intensified cleaning and disinfection of staterooms occupied by those who reported their GI illness to the infirmary. Stool specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing. The ship is on a 10 day cruise ending January 2nd. From a passenger: Two or three days into the voyage, the Captain came on the PA to announce the problem. He said it came from European passengers. They closed buffet lines and the crew had to serve you; they removed salt/pepper shakers from the dining room; they took rolls away and served bread at dinner with tongs, and closed the hot tub. In addition, in the evenings, we saw our cabin steward and assistant washing down all of the cabin corridors (even the ceiling) with disinfectant. In addition, when passengers became ill, they were confined to their cabin and the stewards were not allowed to clean. When "quarantine" was over, crew members with masks went to the "contaminated" cabins and cleaned under supervision. The Captain announced the numbers ill and daily progress against the illness. The largest number announced was about 25. We had friends on the next voyage and learned that embarkation was delayed as they continued to try to rid the ship of the GI virus. HAL also had people stationed at each entrance to the dining areas providing hand sanitizer to all passengers to try to control the outbreak. |
Illness |
| January 4 |
Allure of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
The Orlando Sentinel reports a teenager said she was raped by two passengers while aboard, lured from a teen dance club to a private room in the wee hours of the morning. A teenage boy and a young man were arrested at Port Everglades on Tuesday. Both live in Brazil, but are being held in Broward. The teen and her family, who live in Iowa, set sail from Fort Lauderdale on Christmas for a 10-day cruise. The teen told authorities that on the last night aboard she'd gone to a teen club called Fuel, and at about 1:45 a.m. was invited to a party by a 15-year-old boy. She said she thought she'd be meeting friends in his private room, but said that when she got inside, another man was present, and the two would not allow her to leave. The 15-year-old said she told them she had a curfew and tried to leave, but said both males raped her. She reported it immediately to ship officials, according to arrest documents. |
Sexual Assault of teen |
| January 3 |
Marco Polo
Cruise and Maritime Voyages |
The Daily Mirror reports -wenty nine passengers along with eight members of staff, have been isolated in their cabins and treated by medical staff. The ship, carrying 738 holidaymakers and 360 crew, is due to return to Tilbury docks, London, this morning after the cruise to Tenerife, which left on December 20. One passenger on board, who did not want to be named, said the festive trip had turned into a nightmare. She said: “There are bags marked human waste everywhere and staff are wearing masks. “It is like something out of a film. They have closed the coffee stations but the bar is still open. But all the public toilets have been shut and we have been told to use our own in our cabins. "But our cabin is miles away from anywhere. The trip has been a complete disaster.” Tour operator Cruise & Maritime confirmed that a small number of passengers had fallen ill with the norovirus. The ship will be disinfected today before setting off on another cruise tonight and passengers on the new trip will be told what has happened. |
Illness |
| January 3 |
Sun Princess
Princess Cruises |
The Otago Daily Times reports poor weather across the Tasman resulted in ship arriving at Port Chalmers shortly before 4pm- more than eight hours after its expected arrival. Taieri Gorge Railway chief executive Murray Bond said while the tourism operator had received updated reports of a possible late arrival, the late start resulted in the cancellation of the cruise ship service. "We have lost 400 customers and a considerable amount of money. We lose tens of thousands of dollars every time this happens." In addition to changing staffing numbers on a statutory holiday, "we also chucked 280 meals into the skip". "We are not very happy, but the weather has beaten us." Mr Bond said it was the 13th time in two years where cruise ships into Dunedin had been late or cancelled, and "it is getting to be an epidemic". "Dunedin has really suffered over the last two seasons with cancellations or late arrivals and has suffered more than any other city in New Zealand." Mr Bond acknowledged the city was often the first port of call for cruise ships, but questioned why other cities were not dropped off the itinerary if time needed to be made up.The ship lect at 8PM for Christchurch |
Late arrival |
| January 1 |
Amadea
Phoenix Reisen Cruises |
Anguilla News reports the cruise ship's planned arrival to Sandy Ground Anguilla on "Old Year's Day" - New Year's Eve, 2011 would have added to what appears
to have been a very successful holiday season for the tourism industry
on the island. The anticipated visit however did not materialise, due,
according to tourism officials, to heavy swells. Hopes are now for a
successful port stop at the end of January. |
Missed port call |
|
|
2011 |
|
| December 31 |
Norwegian Spirit
Norwegian Cruise Line |
The CDC reports reports 94 of 2409 passengers (3.90%) and 13 of 945 crew (1.38%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer boarded the ship on arrival in New Orleans, LA on December 25, 2011 to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluated the outbreak and response activities. Ship crew completed a full comprehensive super-sanitation turn around between disembarking and embarking passengers. Stool specimens were sent to the CDC lab for testing, which revealed that this outbreak was caused by Norovirus.The ship is on a 7 day cruise ending December 25th. |
Illness |
| December 31 |
Mariner of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
The following message was sent on December 22 to passengers booked for the cruise from Galveston, 12/26/2011 to 01/02/2012: We are contacting you to provide you with important information regarding your sailing on Mariner of the Seas on Monday, December 26, 2011. During Mariner of the Seas' last sailing, a number of guests onboard experienced gastrointestinal illness. In an abundance of caution, we are conducting enhanced sanitizing onboard the ship and within the cruise terminal to help prevent any illness from affecting your cruise.
Because of this additional sanitizing, the check in and boarding process is now anticipated to take place between 2:00 p.m and 5:00 pm. We sincerely apologize for this delay. Due to the limited seating in the cruise terminal in Galveston, Texas, please do not arrive at the pier before 2:00 pm on Monday. As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding and cooperation, Royal Caribbean will provide each guest with a $20 credit to their onboard account to cover lunch in Galveston and any incidental cost they might incur due to the delay in boarding. |
Illness |
| December 30 |
Aurora
P&O Cruises |
The Daily Echo reports around 25 passengers were showing symptoms of norovirus last night. Sick passengers are being told to isolate themselves in their rooms while a “comprehensive” disinfection programme is rolled out on the ship, which set sail from Southampton last week. Yesterday the vessel was on a day call in Tenerife ahead of the next leg of its 15-day voyage – a cruise to Gran Canaria. Aurora is due to return to Southampton on January 4. |
Illness |
| December 28 |
DIsney Fantasy
Disney Cruise Line |
USA Today reports security has been increased at a German shipyard after a mysterious water-valve leak caused damage to the 2,500-passenger Disney Fantasy, under construction at Meyer Werft in Papenburg, Germany. According to the shipyard, access to the ship was restricte after the incident, which occurred earlier this month. The damage will not impact delivery dates, officials said. While local media reported the ship had been damaged to the tune of $1.2 million, Disney spokeswoman Rebecca Peddle says that's an exaggeration. "There was some water damage that resulted in them having to replace some carpeting. It was not significant," she says. Peddle adds most of the damage has already been repaired. The ship nears completion; delivery is in February and the ship is set to debut from Port Canaveral in March. |
Vandalism |
| December 27 |
Carnival Fascination
Carnival Cruise Lines |
News 4 Jacksonville reports a woman is facing fatal charges in connection with a bomb treat made on a cruise ship set to arrive in Jacksonville. Linda Wilson, 44, is charged with reporting false information/hoax to law enforcement officials regarding a bomb aboard the Carnival Fascination in May 2010. According to the indictment, Wilson called the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to say a bomb was going to explode when the ship arrived at he JAXPORT cruise terminal. Wilson was arrested on a federal warrant by local law enforcement and was scheduled for an initial court appearance Tuesday. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison. |
Bomb threat |
| December 27 |
Splendida
MSC Cruises |
From a passenger: The ship missed Malta today (27 Dec) and sailed straight to Tunis. This was due to the port being closed as winds were reported at 40+ knots. Malta has been replaced with a call to Messina on the 28th. |
Missed port - Itinerary change |
| December 27 |
Celebrity Summit
Celebrity Cruises |
The Associated Press reports The U.S. Coast Guard says it has suspended a search for a 30-year-old female bartender who worked aboard a cruise ship and jumped overboard near Puerto Rico. The Coast Guard said in a statement late Monday that the Filipino woman was an employee with the Celebrity Summit cruise ship. Officials said she jumped late Sunday as the ship passed just northeast of the popular tourist island of Culebra. They did not identify the woman or say whether they had uncovered a possible motive for her action. The ship operated by Celebrity Cruises had just left Puerto Rico and was headed toward Barbados. |
Crew overboard |
| December 27 |
Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Cruises |
A poster at Cruise Critic writes: Just off the Dec 18 to 26 Solstice Holiday cruise. It was a great cruise until December 25 evening when a family member developed severe GI problems. The nurse practitioner who visited our cabin informed us that multiple cases of GI distress had begun occurring that evening and that 3 medical teams were "swamped" dealing with the outbreak. Although the nurse practitioner thought the outbreak was due to Noro virus, I am suspicious that the outbreak may have been due to food poisoning, as no other family members (who shared close quarters), developed symptoms. Symptoms resolved after about 18 hours. |
?Illness Outbreak? |
| December 24 |
Norwegian Sun
Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a Passenger: Saw medic carry a man off the private island, Great Stirup Cay, with CPR in progress yesterday. Being an EMT myself I assume he did not make it. I am not aware if it was a heart attack or a drowning. Nothing was mentioned about it on the ship. |
Medical emergency on private island |
| December 22 |
Maasdam
Holland
America |
From as Passenger: I just got off the Masdam yesterday after an 11 day cruise. They said there was a noro outbreak on board but I did not see any evidence of this. No gloves or not being able to self serve from the buffet.
What I did notice was that after 3 days many many people were sick with a head cold symptoms, caughing, sore throats, ear aches etc.
This continued to grow by the days. My wife and myself eventually got it too.
Also at the terminal in St. Kitts 2 people fell in the same spot and suffered broken arms.
We had 1 bright star emergency in St lucia and a passenger was rushed to the hospital by ambulance at docking. |
Illness |
| December 22 |
Veendam
Holland
America Line |
A poster at Cruise Critic reports the sail away was scheduled for 9:00 pm and we were right on time. However, sailing out of the harbor, we had a little mishap. Seems that one of the container ships had a container derrick swung out over the channel and in squeezing between two container ships, the derrick managed to tear off about a 50 foot section of railing on our Deck 12—and crack a window in the Crows Nest…narrowly avoiding more serious damage. However because of the accident, once out of the immediate harbor area, we had to pull over into an anchorage area a few miles downstream and wait until the next morning for the Argentine Coast Guard to come aboard and inspect the damage as required by International Maritime Law (according to announcements on board). That required us to stay overnight unexpectedly and the inspection took much longer than anticipated..so we did not get underway again until about 11:00 am. All of that delay meant a major shakeup in our original schedule. The captain announced mid-afternoon that we were going into Montivedeo, Uruguay that evening, would stay overnight to do some preliminary repairs, refuel, and restock for the remainder of the trip. That necessitated adjusting our onward itinerary. The cruise line made a decision to SKIP the stop at Puerto Madryn, Argentina…and instead sail directly for Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. That would get us back on our original schedule—in the Falklands on Christmas Day. What impact it will have on our anticipated viewings remains to be seen. |
Collision with crane |
| December 20 |
Monarch of the Seas
Royal Caribbean
International |
Cruise Critic UK reports soiled plates in the clean buffet stack, missing safety signage and more than 30 fruit flies, dead and alive, were recently discovered on Monarch of the Seas by inspectors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those and dozens of other infractions earned the Royal Caribbean ship a failing score of 85 out of 100 on its November 18 vessel sanitation inspection. The CDC's stringent (and surprise) cruise ship cleanliness exam is conducted twice a year, with an 86 considered passing. In the detailed report, fruit flies were mentioned 11 times, having been found in bulkheads, by preparation counters, and in and around the buffet during live service. The ship also came under fire for not maintaining potentially hazardous foods at proper temperatures and/or not logging when said foods were refrigerated. Temperature checks at 8:45 a.m. in one of Monarch's walk-ins found shredded cheese, kidney beans, raw eggs and shredded deli ham all above the required level of 41 degrees F. The staff stated the ambient temperature log for the walk-in was checked at 5:45 a.m. -- but there were no food temperature checks recorded. All these foods were discarded. According to the 2011 version of the CDC's Vessel Sanitation Program's (VSP) Operations Manual, "Except during preparation, cooking, or cooling, potentially hazardous foods must be maintained at 135 degrees Fahrenheit or above (roasts may be held at a temperature of 130 degrees), or 41 degrees Fahrenheit or less." The report further revealed that Monarch had not adopted new standards from the VSP's updated manual, which include carrying a test kit for measuring alkalinity in the swimming pools and posting poolside safety signs warning passengers not to use the facilities if they are "experiencing diarrhea, vomiting, or fever" and encouraging them to shower before entering the facility. |
Failed health inspection |
| December 20 |
Pacific Sun
P&O Australia |
News Australia reportsthe ship's last cruise - a seven night cruise of the Pacific Islands - will depart Brisbane on July 1. P&O said travellers booked on Pacific Sun cruises after July 8 will be re-booked on equivalent or near equivalent cruises on other P&O Cruises ships or offered a choice of alternative cruises on other ships in the fleet where a near equivalent match is not possible. It will provided refunds to passengers for whom no alternative cruise choice is suitable. The ship is believed to have been purchased by a Chinese company, which is likely to launch new cruises out of China towards the end of next year. |
Ship sold |
| December 19 |
Carnival Cruise Lines |
The Peoria Journal Star reports an Arkansas woman pleaded guilty Monday to making a bomb threat to a cruise ship in early June. She pleaded to one count of making a false bomb threat and faces up to 10 years in prison. The woman called Carnival Cruise Lines and told an operator there was a bomb on a ship headed to Cozumel, Mexico. Two ships, each with 3,000 people aboard, were notified immediately. No bomb was found, but police did obtain the phone number of the cellphone used to make the call as well as identify which cell tower was used. Within a day, authorities tracked her down, who initially denied making a threat. Later, she said she called Carnival and made a threat because she was angry a man she was living with in Little Rock took a cruise with some of his stepchildren but without her. |
Bomb threat |
| December 18 |
Norwegian Gem
Norwegian Cruise Line |
From a passenger: The cruise ship missed it's port of Great Stirrup Cay on Dec. 14, 2011 due to choppy seas that would not allow tendering.
|
Missed port call |
| December 18 |
Sinfonia
MSC Cruises |
The Saturday Star reports a Durban man claims South African courts cannot try him for allegedly raping a Joburg woman on a cruise ship – because the incident happened on international waters. Lawyers for Pinetown resident Sindhu Ramanandh Bhogal say he does not have a case to answer. Bhogal, a married man and a father of one, appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court on Thursday to face charges of raping Gauteng woman Anika Marks on board the MSC Sinfonia on November 28, 2009, after allegedly spiking her drink. After two years of legal arguments, the case now rests on whether the state’s legal team has jurisdiction to continue with the prosecution – a matter which Bhogal’s new advocate has challenged as the incident was alleged to have happened in international waters. Marks says she awoke two hours after the alleged rape. She accompanied her colleagues to Portuguese islands – one of the ship’s stops on the cruise – and only reported the matter to the ship’s manager, after confiding in a close friend, a day before it was due to dock in Durban harbour. Bhogal has denied the charge, and is out on R1 000 bail. Bhogal’s advocate, Ken McIntosh, citing Section 61 of the Criminal Procedures Act, said as the alleged crime occurred in international waters, the court could not proceed with the matter. |
Sexual assault |
| December 16 |
Ryndam
Holland
America Line |
The CDC reports reports 69 of 1298 passengers (5.32%) and 6 of 574 crew (1.05%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. A CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officer and an epidemiologist will board the ship on arrival in Tampa on December 18, 2011, to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 7 day cruise ending December 18th. |
Illness |
| December 15 |
DIsney Magic
Disney Cruise Line |
From a passenger: On Sunday December 4th at approximately 4 PM, there was a power outage. For around 5 to 10 minutes nothing works on the ship, no motor vibration, nothing...Scary. It was very windy and it was a rough sea. Electrical power was restored but no propulsion of any kind. More than 90 min past before the propulsion was restored. We were late to our first port of call St Marteen.
After that, on Wednesday December 7th, first there was no condiment at the Pluto's Dog House (burger grill) like at the beginning of the cruise. We were not able to serve our self at the Topsider Buffet and there was no dip for the bread at all 3 main dining rooms for the rest of the trip. Our server said to us that there is an outbreak (illness) ... Many people were sick, even in the dining room... |
Loss of power, adrift & ?Illness? |
| December 15 |
Carnival Splendor
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: 12/11/11 sailing - Mexican Riviera - Cabin 1306: Wild, out-of-control alcohol-fueled domestic fight - starts at 9PM, escalates to most certainly a felony assault (or worse) by 3AM. All kinds of yelling, screaming, howling. Objects (victim?) thrown against the walls. Finally security responds; victim has blood streaming from her, multiple wounds; others report seeing multiple pools of blood in the room. Around 3:45 AM, Carnival removes the "guests" and immediately starts the process of cleaning the room up, starting with the blood. NO attempt whatsoever to preserve the scene or the evidence. Staff members will not discuss what happened other than "it's under control" and "he won't be a problem". Rumor is that the offender was removed from the ship in Puerto Vallarta.
|
Ugly scene - Pax on pax assault |
| December 14 |
Costa Cruises (Ship unknown) |
From a reader: A media outlet in Brazil reports a huge bed bug infection on Costa Cruises, from Italy to Brazil. No further details are available, other than the online video. |
Bed bugs |
| December 13 |
Bahamas Celebration
Celebration Cruise Line |
CBS 12 reports the ship is back in Florida today after a fire on board forced the cruise liner to return to its home port in Riviera Beach. Hundreds of passengers were on board when a fire broke out in one of the generator rooms. The damage was kept to a miniumum. Passengers said the cruise line did a good job of accomodating passengers, but did a poor job of communicating what as happening. Cruise line President Charles Kinnear said the fire damaged wiring and knocked out the ship's air conditioning, making the cabins a little toasty for some. However that didn't stop passenger Nancy Martin from making the best of it. "That gives us something to talk about, for years and the stories to tell the grandchildren ... Paw paw and grammy spent the night on the deck!" she said. The fire happened Sunday as the ship was heading to the Bahamas, just 4 miles off the coast. About 600 people were aboard at the time. The crew performed a safety check while the boat was in the Bahamas before returning to Riviera Beach for repairs. |
Fire |
| December 12 |
Carnival Conquest
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: There was an outbreak of something vomiting and diarrhea starting on Tuesday of the cruise (4-11 Dec). My husband got sick on Thursday morning and was asked to stay in cabin on isolation. On Friday I came down with vomiting and diarrhea. We were told there were lots of people sick. We were basically left to fend for ourselves. It may have taken 2 to 3 hours to get a powerade. They sent up crackers one time. They did not even help us get off the ship with our luggage. This was our second trip on the Conquest and our last. They had half the staff they did on our first voyage. The Cezenne dining room was dirty most of the time with dirty tables. After 7 pm it was hard to find anything other than pizza. I talked to Carnival and they said they had cut back on dining times and menu. They said they were sorry we got sick. Another passenger writes: On our final day at sea suddenly all the crew was wearing gloves and none of the passengers were allowed to get their own plate or food at the buffet. Everything had to be served by the staff and they were constantly wiping down everything and making announcements about hygiene. We asked if something was going on and we were told no however by that night 3 of the seven people in our party were very sick and once we walked in on an employee in the bathroom vomiting very badly. A casino employee told us that night many of the crew and passengers were very sick. When we were getting off the boat Sunday we saw stacks and stacks of mattresses in plastic they were loading on the ship. We still have people from our group sick and I wish we had been told something. We received no information and since I was traveling with two children and my seventy year old father I continue to be concerned. |
Illness outbreak |
| December 11 |
Carnival Magic
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a reader: Heard from some friends who just returned on the Carnival Magic sailing departing on 12/04/2011. The ship returned back to Galveston about 3 hours after sailing to debark a sick or injured guest. I was able to confirm by checking the Galveston cruise/port camera. The ship was in port already at 9:28 pm. Then on Friday 12/09/2011, there was a report of a person who went overboard. Not sure of the exact time but I received a text at 8:25pm stating that the ship was conducting an emergency procedure in response. |
Delayed / ?Person overboard? |
| December 9 |
Celebrity Constellation
Celebrity Cruises |
From a passenger: I just returned home. I did a 13 night that got into FLL on 12/3 from Barcelona and it was delayed boarding 5 hours because of a deep clean. The whole cruise was very different: no boarding drinks, no captain's club buffets, no brunches. The entire cruise everything including beverages were served. Not even napkins were available. Bleach ruined some of my clothes from the "deep clean" They were spraying bleach in every room with a steam machine after each event. The prior cruise Istanbul/ Turkey was so bad it was reported people got #2 at the buffet, and in the Solarium Jacuzzi!!! The men in orange suits arrived, but people continued to eat. :( |
Illness |
| December 9 |
Nieuw Amsterdam
Holland
America Line |
From a passenger: The ship cancelled its port call to Half Moon Cay on Dec 3rd. Approximately 5-10 minutes before the scheduled first tender to the island, the captain came on the PA to issue a general notice that due to high winds and concern for passengers and crew safety they would be unable to tender to the island and the ship would be turned around to head to its next destination (Fort Lauderdale). Holland America offered passengers an apology, refund for port tax, scheduled excursions and a glass of champagne. |
Canceled port call |
| December 8 |
Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Cruises |
The CDC reports reports 118 of 2730 passengers (4.32%) and 9 of 1211 crew (0.72%) have reported ill with gastrointestinal illness. Three CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologists will board the ship on arrival in Fort Lauderdale on December 11, 2011, to conduct a targeted environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. The ship is on a 14 day cruise ending December 11th. |
Illness |
| December 5 |
Carnival Legend
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: I went on a cruise November 26. There was a outbreak of an illness, on the 2nd day at sea. At the beginning of the day you couldn't walk into a bathroom unless you wanted to see people throwing up, and by the afternoon it got worse. You couldn't walk anywhere! there were people vomiting in hallways. I hid out in my teen club, i was the only one there.. Eventually i began to get hungry, so i decided i would venture to go get something from the buffet. As i leave the teen club, i notice the deck is empty. there is no one. It was 1pm, and I was all alone on the pool deck. I get to the buffet, and usually at this time there will be long lines to get food. but there were 5 other passengers in the buffet with me. It felt so empty. Later that day i was walking to one of the ships daily activities in the empty hallway, and see crew members taping barf bags to walls, and putting them in bathrooms. It was so weird feeling like the only passenger who wasn't sick. It was nice but eerie. Also the weather was so horrible that they closed the pool deck on the 3rd day for most of the cruise, because of high winds. I went out on the deck and i got pushed by the wind. it was bad. |
Illness |
| December 5 |
Queen Mary
The Queen Mary Hotel |
The Washington Post reports a woman appeared to be drunk when she climbed onto an upper-deck railing aboard the Queen Mary ocean liner and fell 75 feet to her death, authorities said Tuesday. The 26-year-old woman, whose boyfriend jumped into the frigid water to save her, was heading from the fourth-floor deck toward an exit Monday night when she decided to climb up on the railing, Long Beach police spokeswoman Nancy Pratt said. 0 Comments Weigh In Corrections? inShare She was pulled from Long Beach Harbor in critical condition and died a short time later at a hospital. Her name was being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Police concluded her death was an accident. Her boyfriend, who jumped about 15 feet, was hospitalized for hypothermia and expected to recover. Two police officers and a ship employee who also jumped into the harbor were treated at the scene. Several witnesses told police she appeared to be arguing with her boyfriend, but police concluded the boyfriend may have simply yelled loudly at her to get off the railing, Pratt said. “We did not determine there was any kind of heated argument,” Pratt told The Associated Press. Police said the woman and her 40-year-old boyfriend were from Long Beach. Lt. Cheryl MacWillie of the coroner’s office said witnesses told authorities the woman had been drinking with her boyfriend shortly before the fall. The coroner’s office will determine the exact cause of death and whether alcohol played a role, she said. |
Jump from ship - death |
| December 3 |
Carnival Inspiration
Carnival Cruise Lines |
From a passenger: Everyone on the ship which returned this morning was talking about a man who jumped leaving a note behind. His name was called over the loud speaker numerous times. The first I heard of it and as I continued to hear it the story stayed the same without embellishment. His wife died recently but he took the cruise anyway and then did this. |
Person overboard |
| December 1 |
Unknown |
Bermuda News reports in this morning’s [Dec.1] Supreme Court Monthly Arraignments two American women admitted conspiring to import over $400,000 worth of drugs into Bermuda. The initial charge was that between a date unknown and 8th October 2011, 23-year-old Alloah Releford and 28-year-old Latoya Powell conspired with others not before the Courts to import a quantity of cannabis resin into Bermuda. The Court was previously told that two women had arrived in Bermuda as passengers on a cruise ship, and the drugs were found strapped to the women’s bodies and that the total weight was 2.7 kgs [6lbs], with a street value said to be just over $400,000. The women will be sentenced at a later date, and were remanded in custody. |
Drug bust - guilty plea |
Click here for events in 2011 |
Sexual Assaults at Sea, 2009 - 2012 (Only those publicly reported)